Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a great start on the week.
First of all, let me give a special thank you to my amazing beta, the awesome DarkenedHrt101, for her great suggestion on this chapter. I used her idea in the last scene of this chapter, but I won't say what it is until the next chapter:D (Don't want to spoil the story just yet).
I hope you all had a great Halloween week as well. I ended up going to a Vampire themed party on Friday night (I know after Halloween was done) and I looked freaking scary :D I think I'd been the only one who had put that much effort in my costume :D
I'm a little heartbroken that a lot of people apparently have lost interest in this story, or maybe, they just haven't got the chance to read chapter 10. I didn't receive as much reviews as I usually do ( yes, my self-confidence is a little shadowed today, thank you very much.)
But anyone who knows me and has been following my stories knows that I never leave a story unfinished. So even if I'm left with only one reader, just know that you are so very precious to me and I will finish this story for you:)
Thank you to all of you who have given me your time and left me a review:) It's always greatly appreciated it.
Serenitysweety: I always leap on my seat when I see your email notification:) so just know that your reviews mean a lot:) Let me know what you think about this chapter. Cheers.
SailorGurdian314: I loved your theories btw. And honestly, I want to finish this story in chapter 20, but you know what, it might be less than that. I'm really glad that you have honored me with the title of "Queen of Cliffhangers" :D:D I've never had a title in my life. So THANK YOU:D
DarkenedHrt101: I just sent you a message elsewhere:D:D:D:D I think you and I can just leave incoherent reviews for each other, and we'll still understand what is being said:D:D Love you girlie.
phillynz: You will definitely find out in chapter 12. I promise. This chapter, however, will cast some light on Mamoru's relationship with the senshi. Enjoy.
TropicalRemix: Um, not really. But you know what, that gave me an idea:) So THANK YOU:D
Guest: I try to update every Tuesday. So I hope one chapter per week is good enough. Because I'm honestly rushing through life:D:D Enjoy.
Roxypockets1: Dam dam dam dam (I'm trying to mimick background music for the redemption. Did I nail it or what?) :D:D Enjoy this new chapter my friend.
Enjoy all.
Golak
Hiro sat by the window in the main cafe of the campus and took notes from the book sprawled open in front of him. His eyes had been fixed on the book, as his left hand wrote non-stop; it was amazing how he didn't need to spare a glance at his notebook.
Mamoru had entered the cafe solely to buy a double shot espresso to go. Until, he spotted the other man and for some unknown reason, he had decided to take refuge in the far corner of the main lounge; where he could have a clear view of Hiro.
He watched him closely. Hiro took notes, sipped on his drink, pushed a frustrated hand into his short hair and sighed. Mamoru knew he'd probably been studying for finals; they all were, and Hiro always fancied the coffee shop over the library. It seemed the man wasn't a fan of quietness; which probably explains why he'd go out with Usagi in the first place.
Don't go there you bastard.
He sipped on his coffee and tried to watch Hiro through the lineup at the cashier. He raised his upper body a little and then crouched down. When he finally spotted Hiro again, he gulped and smiled stupidly.
Hiro's eyes had been fixed on him. Mamoru raised his cup at him, internally berating himself for being caught; shit. That doesn't look adult at all.
Hiro smiled at him and beckoned him to join him at his table.
"Were you just eyeing me, Mamoru-kun?" Hiro asked, as soon as Mamoru sat on the other side of the table. The other man laughed, embarrassed and uncomfortable, and shook his head, "sometimes I can't see clearly without my glasses on," Saved.
"So...this is killing me…" Hiro sighed heavily and threw the pen he'd been holding on his notebook, "God knows why I'd decided to become a doctor. I should've just settled for playing professional Volleyball."
"Did you really want to be a professional player?"
"I mean…" he scratched the back of his neck and looked away. But those two tiny words, Usagi's everyday use, twisted Mamoru's heart. They must've become close to pick up each other's words that fast, "I mean...I wouldn't mind being a professional player. But ya know. Parents always wanted to have a doctor in the family. So…" he smiled boyishly as if he'd been embarrassed to confess to Mamoru that his folks had chosen his future for him.
Mamoru knew better than anyone else, how someone's wishes could paint a different future for someone else.
"Why don't you drop out then? Your parents can't rule over your head forever."
"I have thought about it. But you know…" Hiro leaned his elbows against the table and stared directly at Mamoru, "there's this irresistible feeling when you save someone's life. That for a little while, you'd be the only one they could count on…"
Mamoru knew exactly what he meant. After all, he'd wanted to become a doctor ever since he was a teenager, solely because he wanted to save lives. Only if he knew, back then, that he'd be saving lives in a different way as he grew up.
"Anyway, this is just final shit-talking," Hiro relaxed his shoulders and moved his head from right to left, "what's up with you? How's life?"
Life sucks. I kissed your girlfriend a week ago, and I'll definitely do it again. By the way, she's my wife.
That's probably what Mamoru should've said right then and there. As more and more feelings bubbled up in him, as more memories resurfaced and confirmed what he'd been trying to run away from for so long, he knew that he needed to put an end to the ridiculous cat and mouse game Usagi and him had started.
"Life is…" Mamoru shrugged, "meh; I don't sleep well these days and it's taking a toll on me."
"Why not? Can't sleep without Ayane-san beside you?" Hiro comically wriggled his eyebrows and laughed at his own joke.
No, because when I sleep, I see your girlfriend, most of the time in a different state of nudity, and I kiss every nook and cranny of her body.
Fuck. He needed to stop this internal struggle.
"Well, Ayane is a little angry with me right now—"
"Oh; problem in paradise?"
Yup; big time. And it's probably because I haven't been able to be intimate with her for the past few weeks. Funny, it's actually your girlfriend's image that prevents me from making love to my girlfriend.
Mamoru stood up abruptly, "I just remembered that I was supposed to meet professor Sato in…" he looked at his wristwatch, "well, 10 minutes ago." He bowed at Hiro, "I'll see you later Hiro-kun."
He could feel Hiro's eyes on him. He adjusted the strap of his bag against his shoulder and rushed out the door.
Damn it. Thinking about how Serenity...Usagi's moans sounded like as he thrust hard and deep inside of her was not the best way to uphold a conversation with her boyfriend.
"You wouldn't dare…"
"Try me…"
"If you do it...Minako...I swear that you won't see the light of day—"
Minako stared directly into Rei's narrowed eyes, raised an eyebrow and opened her clutched palm.
"Nooo…" Rei cried from the top of her lungs and leaped onto the floor and gathered the scrunchie with care. "You evil blonde," she howled at Minako, who stood over her with her arms folded against her chest; like a warrior towering over her rival, "why did you do that?"
"First of all," Minako started, "'evil blonde'? Can you be any more cliche? Secondly, that is a horrible piece of," she pointed at the red oversized scrunchie with its diamond beadings, "...piece of shit. It's a disgrace to the fashion world. And third of all…"
"That's not even a thing…"
"And third of all…" Minako raised her voice, "aren't you the one making fun of my bow every single day? How dare you use this…" she pointed at the scrunchie again and wrinkled her nose as if the mere image of the item made her sick, "piece of garbage, han?"
Rei opened her mouth to retaliate, she'd never been the one to just pass on a verbal quarrel with the blonde, either of the blondes.
"Excuse me…"
Rei whirled around just as Minako straightened her back. The teasing look on the blonde's face from a moment ago had quickly changed to an unreadable, albeit, discouraging stare.
The fairly same look settled in Rei's eyes as soon as she looked at Mamoru Chiba.
"What do you want?"
Mamoru tried to ignore the brutal ringing in his ears. But fuck; every time he came near one of them, the ringing drummed against his skull and the sensation, burned his eyes. He'd been paying closer attention and by now he knew that the ringing increased in volume whenever Minako had been close by. Over the past few weeks, he'd been testing the theory.
He would sit in the booth on the far corner of the arcade, the one close to where the girls usually sat and hid behind his books, only to confirm his suspicions. Ami and Makoto had come in the other day, and he had barely heard any ringing until they had come very, very close.
Rei's presence had proved to be less intense than the blonde's as well; though, her prophetic powers had screwed with Mamoru's mind a couple of times. But at least he'd been able to block her out of his head the next time.
The outers...well, they were a totally different story. Mamoru choked on his own saliva from the mere pain of his brain exploding whenever they'd been around; and he'd been sure, for some weird reason, that Sailor Uranus...Haruka Tenoh's presence had played the biggest role.
But then, there'd been Minako...and fuck it to hell, but that girl's nearness could easily bring him down to his knees. And he didn't want to confess, even to himself, that the pain starting in his ears and rushing through his system had partly been caused by the ringing; it had more to do with the eerie and uncomfortable feeling he got whenever that girl was close by.
"If you have something to say Chiba, just say it…" Minako hissed and folded her arms against her chest once more.
Mamoru cleared his throat and tuned out the ringing, "I need to speak to Usagi—"
"That's 'Usagi-san' for you…" Rei challenged him.
He looked at her intently; damaged brain be damned, two could play this game.
"I need to speak to Usagi and I haven't seen her around."
Rei puffed her chest, probably ready to curse him into next week.
"Why?" Minako asked and looked at Rei. The two of them shared a moment, a spooky moment and the ringing in Mamoru's ears intensified; but only for a second.
"That's for me to know and for Usagi," he looked directly at Rei, "to hear. Where is she?"
"You know what your problem is?"
"I'm sure you're going to tell me—"
"You feel so entitled. And you act as if we owe you something—"
"Why—"
"Don't interrupt me…" Minako's tone changed and for a moment, the ringing ceased and Mamoru no longer stood in the middle of the sidewalk of the arcade anymore.
He looked around and took a deep breath. The land seemed void of life and yet, it shined with a delicacy he'd never seen in his life. Something akin to mourning rubbed at him.
This must've been the moon, for he had always felt the same way whenever he walked this land in his dreams.
"But V, this is the only way…"
"That's garbage and you know it and…"
"Why won't you…"
"Don't interrupt me Serenity…"
The ringing started and Mamoru's eyes focused once more on Minako; she'd always been a fiery ball of demand and it seemed that over the course of two lifetimes she hadn't changed one bit.
"Usagi doesn't want to see you. We don't want her to see you. In fact…" Minako took a few steps forward, so close, that her chest almost touched Mamoru's.
The ringing intensified…intensified so much that it almost made him go deaf. He winced from the pain; a gesture that hadn't gone unnoticed by either of the women in front of him.
"Don't give me that look. That's rude…"
But Mamoru could no longer make out the words Minako spoke to him. The ringing became a continuous siren, similar to an ambulance when the car in front of it wouldn't budge and it had to demand authority.
"If Endymion had one good thing about him it had been his relatively good manners, and you seem to lack in that department…"
Something knapped at his skull from within and Mamoru took a deep breath, a gruff cry and finally, grabbed his head.
"What the fuck…" Rei hissed, "Chiba, what's happening?" her tone still held that superiority she always had, but it had also been underlined with a knowledge; as if she knew what he was going through.
"Rei?" Minako's question floated around them when Mamoru let out another cry and almost doubled over.
"What the hell...Chiba, are you dying?"
"I think he's trying to have a vision…" Rei said, "hurry, Mina. Help me lie him down…"
"We're in the middle of the fucking sidewalk…"
"There…"
The next few moments were a blur to Mamoru; he could only focus on the excruciating pain in his head and now, on his upper body as the women dragged him along.
"We're just gonna lay him down on this filthy ground?" he heard Minako's voice.
"Do you want to spread out your trench coat for him?"
"Like, I think he'd been sprawled on worse than this before…"
Mamoru tried to focus on his breathing. Foggy images shot in his mind, blurry, uncomfortable and almost frightening. He couldn't make out what his mind was trying to send him. He felt his jaw tightening; it was going to break.
"Quick, Mina. We need to put something in his mouth…"
"Rei...you little minx…"
"MINAKO...focus…"
Mamoru heard a shuffling beside him before the ringing increased once more.
"Give me that…
"Minako...that's…"
Something was stuffed in his mouth and the pressure on his jaw lessened; though he immediately choked on the dirt taste.
"That was dropped on the ground, you know…"
Mamoru couldn't even make out their voices anymore. He felt like drowning into an abyss that was made of only one thing; that fucking ringing sound.
But then, something warm engulfed his head and little by little, he was able to pull himself out of that hole.
The ringing decreased in volume and soon after, it started to fade into a minor discomfort in his ears.
When his eyes took back their sight and his body relaxed, he looked up at two sets of eyes; and, had they seemed worried?
Rei pulled her hands from his head, "Can you hear me? Chiba?"
Mamoru felt heavy all over. As if he had finished a 20k marathon without prior practice.
And what the fuck was in his mouth?
He spat out the little red scrunchie and held it in his hand. The fog around his mind slowly lifted away and he gained back all his senses.
"This is one ugly scrunchie," he said in a slow voice.
Rei narrowed her extraordinary eyes at him.
Minako only raised a brow and if it were any other situation, Mamoru would've noticed the amused look in her eyes.
Usagi loved nothing more than the sweet, clean smell of the Outer Senshi's home.
She always took a deep breath when walking through the threshold and her heart filled with warmth; she did the same thing whenever she walked into Mako-chan's apartment, but in there, her mouth had been the organ filling up with water.
They had been invited for an afternoon tea by Michiru. "Please bring Hiro-san with you as well. We would really like to meet him," she'd said, in her usual velvety tone, and hadn't even looked at Haruka when the other woman had hissed with objection.
Usagi couldn't lie to herself; she'd been nervous about this meeting. She knew how protective Haruka could be and she really didn't want her to scare off Hiro.
She had smiled at him and had laughed at his jokes on the ride up to their house and had tried to not think about the other layer...the more important layer of her nervousness.
She hadn't seen Setsuna for a long time. She had been traveling on a few conferences for school and had only returned to Tokyo a few days ago. She had visited Usagi in her sleep a couple of times during her absence; a way for her to make sure that the princess had been safe and in good mental health.
"Setsuna-san would want to meet him too," Michiru had said, her velvety tone a little smudged on the edges.
Usagi dreaded the initial meeting between Hiro and Setsuna. She was the Senshi of time after all, and she would know, right then and there, if he would still be in Usagi's life in the future.
A prediction Usagi hadn't been ready to face.
"Welcome...welcome, please come in."
Michiru had ushered both of them into their spacious genkan. The beautiful mahogany wooden floor creaked only slightly under Hiro's weight as he bowed politely to the aqua-haired Goddess and thanked her for her hospitality.
"Oh my, Usagi-chan...you've done well." The rest of her sentence got lost in Haruka's loud cough.
The three of them looked at the tall, slender woman who'd been clad in a pair of cords and a black dress shirt. She'd been leaning against the door of the kitchen and her eyes were making a hole through Hiro's forehead.
"Haruka-san…" Usagi chirped, after taking off her shoes and hopping into the pair of fluffy pink slippers Michiru had bought only for her use. She walked up to Haruka and flashed her a dazzling smile.
Haruka could never look away from that smile.
"Kitten," she said and she smiled despite herself, "welcome." She leaned over and kissed Usagi's forehead. The kiss lingered for a second more and Usagi rolled her eyes internally. Haruka really knew how to make a man jealous.
The four of them made their way to the living room that had been decorated fancier than the queen's bedroom.
"Wow," Hiro mumbled under his breath and Usagi's heart warmed at the childlike fascination in his eyes.
The room had been surrounded by tall windows and adorned by paintings that any museum would fight over for. Michiru had exceptional taste and she knew how to harmonize colors. The subtle blue of the walls worked perfectly with the deep eggplant color of the carpets. The furniture had been chosen with care and if you asked, the couple would have the most adorable stories about each piece, "I found this in an antique store in Malaysia and when I looked up from it, I saw Haruka's eyes on me. I knew then that I had to have the vase and the woman beside me…" Michiru would smile and look adoringly at her partner.
"Michiru had a concert in Cairo—"
"Duha…"
"What's the difference?"
"They're different cities in different countries…"
"Well, I don't know. Duha," Haruka had rolled her eyes, "and we saw the same sofa in the hotel we were staying at. It's where we first...you know," she'd wiggled her brows at the girls and Michiru had shaken her head, "and yeah. So we ordered the same thing." Haruka had finished the story with a wink and the girls had looked at the gorgeous black velvet sofa with enchantment.
"Usagi-chan…"
Setsuna's voice washed over Usagi like liquid warmth. She loved the way her name rolled out of the older woman's mouth, so gentle and oh so motherly.
"Setsuna-san, welcome back home," she clapped her hands together and rushed forward.
Hiro couldn't contain his smile as Usagi threw her arms around the older woman and hugged her tight.
"My, my...Usagi-chan. You've grown," Setsuna cooed as Usagi stepped out of her arms and stood in front of her; she did a once over on her princess and smiled, "And your hair is lighter...have you noticed?"
There'd been a moment of awkward silence, in which, Hiro had looked at all four women and furrowed his brows.
"And this must be…" Setsuna looked at Hiro, who had already stood up to greet her.
"This is Hiro Kousei, Setsuna-san. My boyfriend."
Hiro bowed, a little deeper than before; there'd been a quality in the woman in front of him that made him feel a little less comfortable and a lot more self-conscious; he couldn't understand why.
Setsuna extended her hand, embellished with dark green nail polish and a delicate emerald bracelet. Hiro took it gently and returned her smile.
Usagi's whole being had rushed up to her eyes as she focused on Setsuna's face. Will she be able to see a fracture of what the guardian of time could see, the moment she had come into contact with Hiro?
Setsuna's face had stayed the same way; all refined smile and unreadable eyes.
They had spent the afternoon sipping on their Gyokuro green teas and munching on fluffy sweets, while Usagi inhaled them.
Setsuna had seemed at ease, and her eyes had never once settled in a prophetic way on Hiro; a fact that Usagi had welcomed the most.
Haruka had tried a couple of times to set him off; her attempts had been defeated either by Hiro's own naivete or by Michiru's unique deadly eye gestures.
The couple had left as the evening had fallen, bowing with gratitude as Usagi had clutched the adorable blue box of homemade desserts Michiru had given her.
"Well?" Haruka had asked, as soon as the door closed and Usagi's loud laughter disappeared in the sound of the car's engine.
"Well, what?" Setsuna whirled around and walked into the kitchen.
"You saw something. I could tell."
"Why would you think that?"
Michiru entered the kitchen and stood beside her partner.
"Because I've known you two lifetimes and have lived with you for long enough to know that you never extend your hand for a handshake."
Setsuna poured herself a glass of water and looked at Haruka with raised eyebrows, "Aren't we observant?"
"Setsuna, you know you will have to tell us one way or another…" Michiru started.
"And why is that?"
Michiru seemed a little thrown back, "If Hiro-san is a danger to Usagi then…"
"He's not a danger to the princess, nor is he a danger to any of us…"
"Then what?" Haruka asked after several moments of silence.
The Senshi of Time had always known more about the future then she wanted to. And though the exact event in the future would only become certain to her a few minutes before it occurred, she could still see bits and pieces of the most important happenings.
"I'm afraid…" she started and paused. She played with the next words that were coming out of her mouth; there was no other way to say them, "I'm afraid that our princess might be a bigger danger to that boy…"
The cozy kitchen of the Outer Senshi's home rarely ever saw any silence but at that moment, nothing could be more of a welcome than compete serenity between the three roommates.
"Have you ever met me?" Usagi whined and fidgeted with her hands more.
"Oh come on Usa; it's only a game—"
"It's a deadly game. And I hate it."
"It's not deadly. It's just a little...mysterious."
Usagi narrowed her eyes at Hiro and huffed, "Please. That's just a filtered word they use for scary as hell…" She dug her feet into the ground and stopped, "I'm not going."
The door of the train opened and Hiro gave room to the people behind him to enter the wagon, "What if I promise that if it gets really scary, then we'll leave?"
Usagi shook her head.
He got closer to her and leaned over, "What if I promise that I'll protect you?"
Usagi's heart skipped a beat. She had heard the exact same words, centuries ago, from a different person and she couldn't ignore the emptiness she suddenly felt inside.
"And we'll get ice cream after this nightmare is over?"
Hiro threw his head back and laughed, "It's a promise."
They ended up having to take the next train. When they arrived at the Asakusa station, the sky had already turned black and they'd been 15 minutes late.
A few of Hiro's classmates had organized an outing to an Escape Room. One of them had gone to the game once or twice and praised its level of intellect and creepiness.
Hiro knew Usagi hadn't been a fan, but then, what could be more romantic than to be in a haunted place, surrounded by imaginary ghosts and evil spirits, while your girlfriend shivered with fright and sought your protection. The game would have many secret hiding spots and isolated corners, and Hiro planned to make good use of them.
"You're late." A girl with long curly hair snapped at Hiro as soon as the two of them walked through the door.
"I know. I'm sorry, we missed the train."
Out of the other eight people who'd been gathering there, Usagi only knew the guy who had threw that elaborate party; don't think about that party; another classmate of Hiro's who had gone to the movies with them once, and…
"I didn't know you were a fan of haunted houses Mamoru-kun?"
Usagi watched with horror as Hiro smiled at the raven-haired idiot, "Are you here alone? Where's Ayane-san?"
Mamoru shrugged, "She was working tonight and no, I'm not a fan of games in general. But Maho-chan basically dragged me here by my hair." He pointed at the girl who had scolded Hiro at the door.
"Hey hey...are you talking shit about me?" She said from the other side of the room.
"Well, Usagi here isn't a fan either," Hiro draped his arm around Usagi's shoulders and pulled her closer.
Mamoru's eyes settled on her, with no apparent emotion, "Usagi-san…," he greeted her.
Usagi inclined her head slightly, "Chiba-san." She could tell how confused and maybe, a little angry Mamoru got when she referred to him by his last name. But then, the look quickly changed into something closer to amusement.
"So Usagi-san. You're scared of this game?" He asked, and for a moment, Usagi couldn't recognize the man in front of her.
"It's not that I'm scared…" she began, and just then, a shriek came from the other side of the door; a woman's cry.
Usagi simultaneously screamed and clutched at Hiro's neck and they almost went crashing to the ground.
It took her a while to understand that the scream had only been a minor example of what awaited them behind those walls.
Her widened eyes looked up at Hiro first and then at Mamoru.
The bastard smiled a Cheshire smile and Usagi could swear that she saw an uncanny sparkle in his eyes.
The game had started innocently enough. One of the staff members had rehearsed the story of the haunted village to them. When centuries ago, a woman bearing an evil fetus had come to the village. The villagers, in their desperate attempt for safety, had ripped out the unborn child from his mother's belly and buried it alive.
The heartbroken mother had howled an eternity long curse on the village and its people. "No child will be born with complete vigor. No mother will ever hear her baby's laughter."
Soon, women of the village had started to give birth to monsters. A baby had been born with no legs and half of its body gone. Another had holes where her eyes would've been. One mother had screamed her lungs out when her son had been born with arms, legs, and upper body but no head.
The village had gone into complete darkness. Usagi wanted to vomit as the tale went on.
Now, it was up to their group to find the remains of the evil baby, dig it up and then bury it again with honor, for it had been the only way for the woman's curse to break.
Usagi had made sure to show her discomfort in many ways. Hiro had only laughed goodheartedly and had held her hand the whole time.
Hiro and Mamoru had been at the forefront of solving the mysteries. They worked well together, coming up with theories, some of which had been shit as hell, but they managed to get them through the first two mysteries.
The third room had a peaceful quality about it, which made all of them uncomfortable. "It's like the calmness before that dreadful music in horror movies," one girl had said.
In a distance, they could hear water running and on display, there'd been a foggy image of a woman, stepping into a river, "The mother took her own life by drowning…" a voice called out and the image changed into stormy water.
"I shouldn't have listened to you," Usagi hissed as she followed Hiro. Her eyes jumped from side to side; if the group only knew that she'd been the heroine responsible for the safety of their world...Oh fuck, one of them did.
"So is there anything you're not afraid of?" Mamoru asked her when he and Hiro had given their place to two other teammates for this round.
Usagi pursed her lips together, "I mean, I'm not afraid of idiots wearing ridiculous clothing…" she mumbled and when he challenged her with his eyes, she continued, "like, I don't know. Tuxedo Mask for example." She shrugged and gave him a look of triumph, "If he were to show up here right now, I wouldn't be afraid of him."
"Why would you be afraid of a hero who saves our city?" Mamoru growled. Hiro was listening to their conversation with amusement. He loved the vixen side of Usagi.
"I mean, for one thing, he doesn't save our city, the Sailor Senshi does," her lips quirked up, "and secondly, don't you find it a tad scary that a grown man would wear a tuxedo and waltz around and dance with the youmas?" Mamoru's eyes widened for a split second and Usagi rushed through, "Monsters...I mean monsters?"
Obviously, Mamoru tried to think of a comeback, and when he did, Usagi kind of wished that they had already gone to the fourth room, "He can't be any scarier than a one-eyed priest though, right?"
An image of the man standing before Endymion and Serenity as they rehearsed their vows to each other popped into Usagi's mind and she gulped hard.
Hiro raised an eyebrow and looked at Mamoru. He shook his head and said, "This priest came into the arcade once, a few months ago, and had a patch on his left eye. Usagi-san here, couldn't stop screaming when he asked her where the washroom was."
"I did not."
"You guys mind helping out a little? Or would you like to have a little picnic too?"
Mamoru smirked at Usagi and went to join the rest of the group.
"So, one-eyed priests, scare you, ha?"
Usagi pouted and punched Hiro's forearm, "Shut up."
"I wish this game would've been a little erotic as well," a guy with thick eyeglasses said, "scary erotic, you know?"
"Can you not be disgusting for a minute?
"What? What is the harm in that, look…" he pointed at the image of the woman walking into the river that had reappeared again, "I think if this woman had managed to bear an evil child, God only knows what else she'd been good at…"
There was a chorus of curses and whistles and Hiro looked at Usagi's tomato-red face. He pinched her nose and smiled; a gesture that hadn't gone unnoticed by Mamoru.
"Say, Hiro-san, have you ever gone skinny dipping?" He randomly asked the other man and ignored the weird look that Hiro gave him.
"Like, recently?" Hiro seemed confused; so did Usagi.
"Not necessarily..."
"Well, yeah...I mean," he scratched the back of his head and looked a little flushed, "there's this lake close to where my grandparents live, Saiko Lake...and I may have gone a little naked for a swim now and then." Mamoru nodded his head in a serious way.
They all heard a knocking on the opposite wall of where they'd all been huddling up. The knock came slowly, and then harder. Usagi screamed, and so did a few other people. The knocking suddenly stopped.
"It's over…" Hiro whispered against Usagi's ear, as she hid deep into his arms.
Mamoru felt his breath coming out in short puffs of nonsense. What the hell? Was he having a heart attack? An image of Serenity's wide eyes came into his mind; they seemed frightened and so very blue...what...he closed his eyes tightly and reopened them. They couldn't be Serenity's eyes; her blue eyes had always had a silvery paleness about them.
Those had been Usagi's eyes. What the hell? How is it that lately, whenever he thought that he was seeing Serenity, it turned out to be Usagi instead?
"I've gone skinny dipping a long time ago…" he abruptly said, "and I hadn't been alone…"
Usagi looked at him with suspicion. There'd been something weird about him all night and she felt that his sudden talkativeness had something to do with her.
"I'd gone there with my wi...girlfriend…"
"Ayane-san?" Hiro asked, nonchalantly. He didn't seem completely enchanted by Mamoru's tale, and he probably asked questions out of respect.
Mamoru shook his head, "No, another girlfriend. My very first...and let me tell you…" he looked straight into Usagi's eyes, "It's a lot more fun being in lukewarm water, sans clothes, with the woman you can call your w…"
A loud shriek jolted all of them out of their skins, "Oh my God, I broke the spell," one of the girls in the group screamed.
The door on the far end of the room opened with an ugly sound and everyone rushed through the small gap.
Hiro pulled Usagi with him. Mamoru followed behind.
Usagi couldn't breathe. That lake and the skinny dipping...what the fuck? So it was true, they shared dreams and...oh my God...if he'd dreamed about that lake, then that meant…
"Oh no…" she shrieked, coming into a full stop and knocking Mamoru right on his butt as he came crashing into her and Hiro.
"Usagi...what happened?" Hiro asked. The whole group had already disappeared behind the door.
"I dropped my purse…"
"Where?"
"You go...I'll catch up with you…" She ran back, jumping over Mamoru's embarrassed limbs sprawled on the ground.
Hiro went to say something. Someone called him by his name and an arm pulled him hard through the door.
Usagi had wanted a few minutes alone with Mamoru. She only wanted to give him an ultimatum to stop his little game.
What she had forgotten, however, was that once a spell was broken and they were allowed to the next room, the door in between would only be open for a few short minutes.
She watched, paralyzed, as the door closed with an uglier sound and locked Mamoru and her in room three.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or its characters. All rights are reserved for this manga/anime's amazing creator, Naoko Takeuchi. I just own the story I tell.
